What I really wish
I could do today is provide you with a scratch and sniff photo. Do you
remember what fall smells like in Upper Michigan? I don't even know how
to describe it, but you know what I mean. That's what I wish I could send
you today. While the colors are fading and leaves scatter the ground,
the best part of fall is all around us...the smell. Stop what you are
doing for a moment and close your eyes and try and remember what a walk
in the woods smells like. Now figure out a way I can bottle it.

While it smells great
outside, it's kind of blah as far as the weather goes, although it's supposed
to be unusually warm today. The leaves seemed to have hit the ground very
quickly this year.

Wildcat sports update

Volleyball 'Cats remain
unbeaten
The Cats extended their winning ways with a convincing three-game win
over Ashland on Sunday afternoon at the Vandament Arena. NMU won the first game
30-16 before being challenged in the second game, but still won 30-28, as the
Cats wrapped up the match with a 30-17 win in the third game. NMU is now
17-0 overall on the season and 12-0 in the GLIAC.

Hockey 'Cats split with Tech
What a difference a venue and a day makes. Flash back to Friday night at the
Berry Events Center, when the Cats pulled Craig Kowalski and scored a
goal with the extra attacker and then won the game in overtime. Saturday night
in Houghton the Huskies of Michigan Tech staged their own version of a miracle
on ice. With the Cats up 6-3 the Huskies scored three goals within a two
minute span to tie the game and send it to OT. Colin Murphy scored the game-winning
goal at 2:58 of the overtime period to give the Huskies the 7-6 win. The Cats
dropped their first game of the season and are now 3-1. MTU is now 1-1 on the
season. NMU jumps back into CCHA play next week when they take their first conference
road trip of the season to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on the University of Michigan
on Friday night (Oct. 24) and Sunday afternoon (Oct. 26).

Football 2-5
The road woes continued for the Cats on Saturday afternoon at Ashland.
NMU down by seven at the half as the Cats could not get anything going
in the second half as the Eagles won by a score of 31-10. The Cats are
now 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC with the loss. The Cats return to
the friendly confines of the Superior Dome to face Wayne State next Saturday
night which will be the first of two straight home games (Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m.).

The Northern Michigan University
womens cross country team ran a meet that was close to home. The
course that they ran on Friday afternoon was set up on campus at NMU. The Cats
easily won the Wildcat Open with 26 points as Michigan Tech was second with
47 points. NMU had
five of the top 10 runners on Friday. The Cats will race again on October
25 at the GLIAC Cross Country Championship at Ferris State University in Big
Rapids, Mich.

The NMU womens soccer
dropped their second game on their Ohio swing to The University of Findlay
on Sunday by a score of 4-1. With the loss the Cats are 8-6-1 overall and
0-4-0 in the GLIAC. The Cats face Saginaw Valley next Sunday (Oct. 26) at
1:00 p.m. for the final home game for the 2003 season.

Executive order likely

With dismal revenues and
a bulging deficit of $900 million just two weeks into the states new fiscal
year, all indications from Lansing point to another executive order that would
reduce funding to Michigans public universities for the current fiscal
year.

I do not have any
concrete information on the level of reduction, but one report said higher education
may be looking at cuts anywhere from 5-10 percent, said President Mike
Roy. To put that in perspective, a 5 percent decrease in NMUs
appropriation would be $2.3 million. A 10 percent reduction would equate to
$4.7 million.

I can
honestly say that if an executive order of this size is issued 
on top of all the reductions made in the past year and a half  it
would be the worst budget situation Ive witnessed in nearly 26 years
at NMU. The '80s were tough, but this would be even more challenging.
Full
Story

How alumni
can help from Kyle James Ortiz, ASNMU President

"Hi.
I write to you today regarding possible additional budget cuts to higher
education. We can attempt to prevent drastic measures like academic cuts
and tuition hikes by getting vocal and writing letter to state leaders
via the www.helphighered.org web site. The state of Michigan has nearly
a $1 billion shortfall in the state budget. That means they will have
to make cuts and those cuts could be made in the form of executive orders
as soon as early November. Considering the university made drastic cuts
last year, if we see similar cuts from the state it could translate into
a substantial tuition increase.
We need to bond together to limit how much of those state budgetary cuts
come out of higher education. ASNMU has created a forum to make your voice
heard. You can write to your legislators letting them know of the value
of higher education via the ASNMU-created www.helphighered.org web site.
All 15 publicly-funded Michigan universities are participating in this
project. If we accomplish our goal of 2000 letters, it could have great
implications in limiting the effects cuts will have on higher education."

"ASNMU and students across the state would greatly appreciate
the support of alumni in the form of letters written to the www.helphighered.org
web site. With your help, we can keep the cost of a college education
affordable in the state of Michigan."
Kyle James Ortiz
ASNMU President

The goal is to send more
than 2,000 letters to local and state legislators from college students, their
parents, alumni, faculty, staff and friends during the week of Oct. 20-24. It's
easy to do through H.E.L.P.'s web site which will automatically send your letter
to the appropriate officials based on your zip code. The campaign is Oct. 20-24.

Exciting schedule on
tap at BEC for World Cup

The
second International Skating Union World Cup of the 2003-04 season will
be in town Oct. 24-26 at Northern Michigan Universitys Berry Events
Center.
In addition to the favorites and the host team, these countries are tentatively
scheduled to appear: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Israel, Lithuania, Mongolia, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Switzerland
and Ukraine.
The teams will compete at the first World Cup in Calgary a week before the
Marquette event and will arrive in town Monday, Oct. 20.
Practices, which will be open to the public, will begin Tuesday and run
through Thursday of that week.For a complete schedule, click
here.

Don't miss the action
in Ann Arbor this weekend

The NMU Hockey Wildcats
take on the University of Michigan in CCHA action this weekend, Friday, Oct.
24th and Sunday, Oct. 26. Wildcat fans are getting together after the game Friday
night at Damons in Ann Arbor. Even if you can't get tickets to the game, stop
by Damons and meet Coach Kyle and NMU President Mike Roy.

Only a few tickets left
for "The Producers"

If you've been waiting til
the last minute to purchase your tickets for "The Producers", Thursday,
November 20th in Chicago, well, you better act fast or you're going to miss
the boat. Only a few tickets remain.
"The Producers" has been one of the hottest tickets in town and we
have them!
Join NMU President Mike Roy and Chicago area alumni for an NMU Night at the
Theatre.
Thursday, November 20thFord Center for Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre$100 a ticket includes
theatre ticket for the award-winning The Producers, private reception prior
to the show and during intermission.A limited number of
tickets are available!Sign
up now.

For ticket information or
to purchase yours today, contact the NMU Alumni Association by email
or toll free, 1-877-GRAD NMU.

More and more alumni
are driving with pride

A quick check of parking
lots at the grocery store or Kohls or the Berry Events Center shows more
and more Wildcat fans are showing their Wildcat pride. NMU license plates
are showing up everywhere.

And we want that to
continue!

You can support Northern
Michigan University with the purchase of an NMU license plate!

And you don't have
to wait until your birthday.
Just visit the Secretary of State's office in your area or
visit their web site. They can pro-rate your fee.

The original fee for
an NMU license plate is $35, in addition to all other applicable fees.
NMU will receive $25, and each time the plate is renewed, a $10 renewal
fee will be collected and sent to NMU.

Purchasing the plate
not only shows that you are "true to your school", but provides
NMU with additional funds to help support the programs and services of
the university.